From the Springfield News-Leader.
Springfield streets were at once both deadlier and safer in 2008.
Total traffic crashes, as well as accidents that resulted in injuries, declined through November. But the number of fatal accidents doubled compared to 2007.
Motorcycle riders were particularly vulnerable, accounting for six of the eight people killed in traffic crashes during the first six months of the year. Of the 16 fatal crashes recorded through November, nine involved motorcycles.
To address the deadly trend, Springfield police on July 1 launched Operation Safe Ride, an effort aimed at curbing dangerous behavior by motorcycle riders and drivers of four-wheeled vehicles who put them at risk.
Officers -- including 11 Springfield motorcycle cops -- targeted intoxicated driving, speeding and compliance with the state's helmet law as part of the effort.
Police spokesman Officer Grant Story said the department hasn't conducted a statistical analysis of Operation Safe Ride's effects, but anecdotal evidence is positive.
The last fatal crash involving a motorcycle occurred Aug. 30.
"We're hearing a lot of feedback from the public that they're more aware of motorcycles," Story said. "One of our main goals was public awareness. Fatality numbers go up and they go down every year, so it's hard to address the trend except through public awareness, and we think we achieved that."
Tough To Address
City Traffic Engineer Earl Newman said the increase in fatalities is difficult to address directly.
"That can vary from year to year and it looks huge in the differences sometimes," he said. "But it's not something that you can particularly concentrate remedial actions towards."
Instead, most efforts focus on reducing total crashes with the idea that injuries and fatalities will decline, as well.
In that regard, 2008 was an improvement.
Injury crashes declined by 4 percent, while the total number of crashes was down 6 percent compared to the year before.
"We're probably going to finish out around 7,400 (total crashes) this year," said City Traffic Engineer Earl Newman.
Barring a flurry of holiday accidents, that will amount to a reduction of about 1,000 crashes compared to a decade ago, he said.
"Over the years we've been coming down," Newman said. The improvement represents considerable savings when the monetary costs traffic accidents are considered. "Just on that basis, we have reduced the economic loss by about $20 million. So it's a huge savings to the community."
Newman attributed the reduction in crashes to a combination of efforts, including police enforcement, intersection improvements, the city's conversion to LED traffic signals and addition of red-light cameras, as well as the Missouri Department of Transportation's installation of median safety cables on Interstate 44.
Even the monthly Crash Report Cards issued by the city appear to have had an effect on public awareness.
"We started that report card about two and a half years ago and we've done it monthly since; we've seen a continuing drop in crashes," he said.
Newman said the continuing rollout of red light cameras will be something to watch in 2009, and city engineers will be studying the effect of reduced neighborhood speed limits.
The reduction, completed this month, caps speeds on many neighborhood streets to 25 mph.
"It's going to take a little while to see the full result of that," Newman said, adding that several traffic-speed studies are planned for early spring.
"If we have the same effect we had in the Rountree (pilot) area, we should achieve a 3-5 mph reduction just by making this change."
